Independent Project Pathway

Student-designed independent projects are those in which you

• Pursue an original project where the outcome or answer is unknown
• Generate direction for the project in collaboration with a faculty mentor
• Take ownership and responsibility for the work
• Strive to meet professional standards appropriate to the discipline
• Engage and/or share outcomes with the wider disciplinary or local community
• Are guided by consistent and active faculty mentoring
• Practice structured reflection throughout the project with guidance from your faculty mentor

The Faculty Review Committee will also consider projects in which the faculty member has designed the scope of the project, as long as you have a significant role in the collaboration.

Most scholars pursue their projects in Ithaca or the local area. We also expect that your mentor will be available in Ithaca to provide active mentoring to you throughout the summer. Make sure you discuss with your mentor whether they will be able to meet this expectation. In rare cases, students propose projects that require you to be at another location in order to complete it (e.g., conducting research in archives located in another city). In this case, your application must explain how you and your Faculty Mentor will stay in regular contact in order to meet the goals both of your project and of the Summer Scholar program.

If your field-based or research project involves living human beings, whether in a face-to-face or online survey context, you have to submit the project design for review and approval by the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board at IC before your project begins in the summer. If you're not sure whether your project falls into this category, you can reach out directly to the IRB for clarification (irb@ithaca.edu) or attend one of their meetings.

Professionally-focused internships are not generally supported through this program. Other types of projects may be considered.

The Review Committee considers the following criteria in their review of applications:

• Effective research/scholarship design.
• A combination of well-defined project goals with feasible implementation plans.
• Evidence that you have sufficient preparation (through coursework or previous experience) to engage in and be successful in the project.
• Evidence that you have collaborated with your faculty mentor on the project design and there is a clear plan for active mentoring by your faculty mentor (note: your faculty mentor must also submit an application).
• Proposals that are professionally written, that clearly express your voice, and that persuasively describe your ownership of/leadership role in the project.

In addition to these criteria, the Program also endeavors to have a variety of disciplines represented by the Scholars' projects.

Faculty who guide such projects are typically drawn from the following H&S departments

Our Scholars develop ePortfolios to document and reflect on their experiences at the conclusion of the summer. Below is a selection from the past two summers. Links to all the 2019 portfolios will be posted soon.

Creative Work - Erin Lockett '20, Acting (BFA)

• Faculty mentor: Kathleen Mulligan, Theatre Arts 
• Project: Lorraine Hansberry: More Than a Raisin 

Field-Based Studies - Maria White '20, Anthropology

• Faculty mentor: David Turkon, Anthropology
• Project: Math Corps: An Ethnographic Investigation of Community-Grounded Education

Scholarship - Nina Ng '21, English and Environmental Studies

• Faculty mentor: Claire Gleitman, English
• Project:  The Threat of Industrialized Capitalism in the Modern Drama

Research - Farwa Shakeel '20, Economics

• Faculty mentor: Shaianne Osterreich, Economics
• Project: Predicting Future Economic Growth in Cuba